Apple can't seem to decide what constitutes unacceptable content, permitting and then pulling the Baby Shaker app in some weird kind of hokey-cokey.
The game, which features a pencil drawing of a baby and crying sounds that only stop when the handset is shaken, was put into the iTunes store at 99 cents, before being pulled a …

Apple = Morality Police

Stop knocking Apple!

They are supposed to be the way we do things, or have you not been paying attention.

Steve Jobs, gawd bless him, has shown us that top-of-the-range electronics can be every bit as important as everyday "Joe Sixpack" goods. Make it look good, make it work right, then charge the suckers as much as possible.

A similar tactic was employed by one A M Suger during the Eighties..... Build em cheap, pile em high and flog em off to the gullible fools who think that the nice new video they have now will still work in 13 months time.

So if Apple say Shaking babies is OK, then it must be fine.

I have said all i need now. i am off to slaughter a goat at my steve jobs shrine......

I'm sorry?

Colonic Ban?

I might try and get the Fart apps blocked because my grandad had colon cancer and died.....

This world has fallen to the whims of the stupid, in the sense that it was stupid to create a game based on such a sensitive subject and doubly stupid that someone got so distressed they called for a ban. Just accept some people have differing perceptions of comedy and move on - you are not going to make us all conform to your standards.

As I have nothing to say

Shaking?

Whilst I've never seen the app in question (something it seems I have in common with every commenter on this page, and also Mr. Ray) are you sure you're not supposed to gently rock the baby / telephonic device until it stops crying?

@Bored housewives..

Interesting...

...my company built some equipment used by a promotional company that did a big display at all the NASCAR races. So they had some fun stuff to do, girls in hotpants, people trying to sign passers-by up for stuff, the usual.

They also had an MC who walked around with a microphone trying to get people excited and attract 'business', and at one point I heard him promoting a meet-and-greet with the hotshot driver they sponsored, saying that he'd be coming around, "kissing hands and shaking babies".

Apparently it was a regular part of his schtick, and nobody'd ever had a problem with it. The sponsor wasn't edgy *at all*, either, so I found that interesting. So, apparently, baby-shaking jokes are OK in some contexts but not others...

Hoisted by their own petard

Apple have made a rod for their own backs with their policing of the AppStore.

I'm sure that any sane person can see the sense in an an OS / device provider policing their developers to make sure that dangerous content (scams / malware / virii) doesn't make its way on to their platform, Apple's failure to make the rules clear just exposes them to this kind of scenario of trial by media.

They could better protect both themselves and their developers if they stated clearly that they will ONLY pull content if it is either: a] demonstrably illegal by national law, or b] poses a security / financial risk to their users.

Until they do the above (and they will eventually), they will be continually forced to deal with this kind of circus.

Just needs rebranding

Douchebags

Which idiots are unable to distinguish the difference between a phone and a baby? You don't ban something simply because it's in poor taste, you celebrate it for demonstrating how diverse peoples sense of humour is.

so what?

How is this game different from killing zombies or nuking aliens? Last time I checked, bad taste was not illegal. Shake a simulated baby and suddenly everyone is offended. Bad taste? Sure, but no real babies were harmed in the making of this app.

@ so what?

You're not wrong, I say.

In 100 years time people will be horrified by the xenophobic slaughter fest that is "Space Invaders", as much as if it were called "KKK Lynch Mob". Talk about indoctrinating the kids !Just cos they're not from round here and they walk sideways doesn't make it right...